Complete Change in Flight Itinerary

Go online and select the next best itinerary that works for you. Give the reservation agent the info, including flight numbers, and request to be put on that flight instead. Be sure to give yourself a layover duration that you are comfortable with. It should be no problem since they made a major change to your schedule. This has happened to many people, myself included, so it's nothing out of the ordinary. Don't sweat it, just go with the next best option.

If there is no good or acceptable alternative option, you also have the right (see the airline's terms of carriage contract) to cancel outright and get your full refund - but, the downside is you'll have to start again from scratch and the price may be much higher than the original. I have actually benefitted from flight changes by booking a new itinerary with a different carrier, but that's because the latter price beat out the original. It's always worth checking (but make sure you have Plan B before cancelling outright and asking for a refund).

Agnes is right - do your research first so you can give them alternatives that are acceptable for your needs, even if not as good as your first flight schedule - that may not exist.

We’ve had similar things happen when a drastic change is made like yours. We look carefully for a routing we want and make a note or screenshot of flight numbers, times, etc. We call the airline and state that because our flight was changed from X to Y we want Z. We’ve always gotten the routing we asked for. Have your best route ready to present to them. These route changes are left up to computers and sometimes they follow a simple formula and don’t look in at ALL the possibilities which you should do before you contact them. You should do this as quickly as possible because many other passengers are on their phones today asking for a change because of this drastic schedule substitution.

Follow the previous posters advice and investigate options yourself before you call. If there are other options, they usually are willing to change at no cost (or at least my experience with another airline). If you have a solution going in, it is harder for them to say "no" even if that solution might require an upgrade in ticket code.

However, I fly out of a regional airport as well, and the last few years have not been kind to schedules. 3 or 4 flights to a hub went to 2, a hub dropped, flight times changed. On our current trip, we had our return flight changed, taking a 2 hour layover to 9 hours, getting home after 10:00 PM now. Like it? No. Other options? No, so it is what it is. Doesn't matter how high you go up on the management chain, they are not going to add a flight for you.

You can certainly ask to talk to a supervisor, but that will only help if there are seats available on a better flight, but would require an upgrade to the ticket class, but as I said, if there is no flight, they can't really help.

I agree with the comments made so far. This has happened to me frequently, and typically, I've made it work to my advantage. I only have experience with this type of scenario with Delta airlines. Yes, the first thing I do after my initial annoyed reaction is to check for all of the other options available. I'm not sure why, but when a flight is cancelled, most often, we are moved to other flights that no way approximate my initial plans. No way is that acceptable. When I look for options, at least with Delta, I pay no attention to pricing, and even seats available. I am often able to find flights I didn't consider before that are more ideal but are pricier. Delta has always been willing to move me at no extra charge. Only one time did I have to escalate. My daughter's flight had been cancelled and the options they provided were terrible. I told the agent the flight what I wanted and she said, there were no main cabin seats available. I asked to be escalated and in the end a more premium seat was changed to main cabin for her.

This coming week I am going to Seattle. We have all the days planned. Then Delta cancelled flights and changed me to flights that I wasn't happy with. I did get a flight I like much better for outbound. But for the return, I had a flight midafternoon and we had lunch plans. Now, there are no direct flights mid/late afternoon so there will be no lunch. My only options weren't nonstop and involved several connectings. No thank you! So, sometimes, there just isn't an alternate that fits the bill.

You are under no obligation to accept such a huge change and are actually entitled to a refund (not eCredit) if you cannot find something acceptable. I experienced this last year with American and received a prompt refund. However, you should be able to negotiate an acceptable itinerary without additional cost. This has been my phenomenal experience with Delta.

There’s a slightly later flight via Chicago with a 1-1/4 hr layover that you can ask for.

This run is really best as a Delta purchase via Minneapolis or SLC, more flights in case one gets cancelled.

Looking at the AA schedule, there are no good options, schedule wise, ( at least not as good as you had)

Since it seems you are flying home, your bike arriving a day later ( assuming it does not make the change at DFW) does not appear to be catastrophic.

Perhaps keep the flight and see what compensation AA will offer to make amends for the earlier flight? A seat upgrade; a bunch of miles... something

Great Advice, all! Thank you.

Agnes, are you saying to search for completely new itinerary options (outbound and inbound) or just the inbound legs to have in hand before contacting American? I'll also consider plan "B" - requesting a full refund - if plan "A" doesn't pan out after researching other carriers for price and scheduling.

You are under no obligation to accept such a huge change and are actually entitled to a refund (not eCredit) if you cannot find something acceptable

I agree, and was going to mention it, but assumed the OP maybe already took the first leg of the trip...so needs to get home.

The other wrinkle is if you got a great price for the ticket, and get a refund, then you are left trying to either find another deal, pay much more for the same/similar trip, or don't go.

Another tact, that may or may not offer other options, is offer to change the return date, if that frees up a flight time.

Sometimes you can add a day to your vacation when you have a flight change. If the ticket is roundtrip, it opens up both flying out and returning. Also, sometimes you can change airports if it's close to the original airport. I haven't worked with American airlines, but have had good success with Delta/KLM and Air Canada. On my last trip I added a day at the start to spend more time in Florence. Originally flying out a day earlier tickets were more expensive, but hey, with the flight change, I took advantage. To be honest, I'm thinking I like purchasing tickets way in advance for a cheap flight. I just pick a flight that I can live with, then wait for the flight change so I can get the flight I actually wanted but couldn't afford. Maybe things will calm down, but I just don't see a reason to buy a more expensive flight that has the ideal times when it most likely will just change anyways.

And if you get an agent that wants you to pay the fare difference, just call back. I found it's not worth educating them and easiest just to get another agent.

I see there is a 5:15 am AA flight that gives you 2 1/2 hours at DFW for the change. Your problem is that there is nothing on AA going to MSO from DFW after 10:10 am

Regarding comments by Gail and Paul, I could certainly change either one or both departure and return dates but by only one day.

By the way, I depart MSO on August 3.

Off topic but I have often been in DC/MD/VA in August and never once has the thought crossed my mind: “I wish I could take a long bike ride.”

Agnes, are you saying to search for completely new itinerary options
(outbound and inbound) or just the inbound legs to have in hand before
contacting American?

At first, I would only focus on the part of the itinerary that is unacceptable to you when you engage the reservations agent. But if AA gives you additional leeway (on both legs) that works in your favor, then take advantage of it. It never hurts to ask "Would it be possible to get (fill in the blank) without any additional cost due to the major flight change?", especially if you end up losing time from your trip, like a few hours etc. I found that being polite and patient almost always succeeds (in worst case, you can call again and try with a different person). Agents are more likely to work with people who are appreciative and relaxed; they probably deal with a lot of angry people, so they often reciprocate when someone is calm/ collected and treats them well on the phone.

Good luck!

Just curious, when did you buy the tickets?

Agnes,

Spoken with the sage wisdom born of your experience. I'll give the "whole new itinerary" plan a try. Many thanks!

By the way, searches on Delta, United and American, even with a day change on one or both ends, bring up naught but higher fares (what a surprise!), horrible schedules and multiple stops.

Tom,

Well, if you're a cyclist then you should indeed enjoy the local rides or take a bike trip the DC-VA-MD-WV-PA region offers. There are options and miles galore, both on-road and on bike trails.

Northern Virginia is my hometown area, and a friend and I will be biking DC to Pittsburgh on the 185-mile C&O Canal Towpath and the 148-mile Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) Trail over nine days. Both, of course, are car-free with camping, B&Bs, hotels, WarmShowers hosts and a hostel for accommodations, along with oodles of history, nature and small towns along way.

In the DC area alone, the options are: the Mt. Vernon Trail (18 miles, Arlington to George's plantation); the W&OD Trail (45 miles, Arlington to Purcellville, VA); the Capital Crescent Trail (13 miles, Georgetown to Bethesda, MD); Rock Creek Park (20 some miles on road, DC to the Maryland burbs); and a few city trails I've not yet ridden.

Together with the C&O, that's nearly 300 miles of cycling just in the DC area, 93% of which is on trails. Add to that the many rural roads in outlying Virginia, Maryland and nearby West Virginia (to Harpers Ferry for example) west and north of DC, plus pastoral Lancaster Co., Pennsylvania, and you've got yourself a mini vacation.

David:

I’ll keep it in mind but I don’t care for muggy weather, maybe October.

Tom,

I neglected to add that March to mid-June and late September through October are the optimum months for cycling to avoid the heat and humidity. March is usually pleasantly cool, windy and somewhat rainy, while the heat can linger through September.

Well, patience may well pay off. After reading all your sound advice above and the Conditions of Carriage for both American and Delta, I opted to wait a bit to see what may develop. Again, I don't depart Missoula for DC until August 3.

Delta now has a somewhat cheaper Basic/Economy fare (by $44, no big deal) with two good return departures close enough to my original, afternoon AA departure time.

Here's the wording for the Conditions of Carriage for each carrier:

American: "AA will refund a non-refundable ticket (which I have) if it makes a change that results in a change of more than four hours to departure time." It sure did, from 1:45 pm to 6:45 am on the return leg. The outbound leg is still fine. Prior to that it also states, "AA is not liable if it changes the schedule." Sounds contradictory to its first statement depending on how one defines "not liable" or "changes the schedule."

Delta: Rule 22. We will refund the fare paid because of Delta's failure to operate on schedule." Huh? Is "not on schedule" the same as making a major change to the itinerary?

It further says that there will be no refunds for non-refundable tickets. Thus, if I were to switch to Delta and it then makes a major, undesirable change to my itinerary it appears I would get no refund.

Is there any USDOT rule regarding refunds that carries more weight that these CofCs should I get any resistance from either carrier?

The layover times on both carriers are fine. I'l be in Alexandria a few days prior to the start of my trip, so if my bike arrives a day after I do it's OK.

Thanks again for any insight or advice you can offer.

What Delta considers a significant change below (>120 minutes). I believe all airlines have some kind of policy regarding refunds for cancelled or significant changes, however the definition of what a significant change is varies from airline to airline.

https://www.delta.com/us/en/change-cancel/cancel-flight

Refunds
If there is a flight cancellation or significant delay (>120 minutes), you will be rebooked on an alternative flight, or your ticket will be converted to an eCredit for future travel. However, in some instances, you may be eligible to request a refund* of any unused portion of your non-refundable ticket or for unused trip purchases if you choose not to travel. Please note that most tickets are nonrefundable and not all amenities are refundable; see their individual terms for details.